Webpage media playback

ABSTRACT

Embodiments are provided for facilitating playback of media content on a webpage by a playback zone in a media playback system. Upon, or subsequent to opening a web-browsing interface, one or more playback zones of a media playback system may be identified, and links to a playable media item may be identified on a webpage to be displayed by the web-browsing interface. The webpage may then be modified such that a representation associated with the link may be selected to prompt a display of the one or more identified playback zones. A selection of one of the one or more identified playback zones may then cause the media item to be played in the selected playback zone.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The disclosure is related to consumer goods and, more particularly, tomethods, systems, products, features, services, and other elementsdirected to media playback or some aspect thereof.

BACKGROUND

Options for accessing and listening to digital audio in an out-loudsetting were severely limited until in 2003, when SONOS, Inc. filed forone of its first patent applications, entitled “Method for SynchronizingAudio Playback between Multiple Networked Devices,” and began offering amedia playback system for sale in 2005. The Sonos Wireless HiFi Systemenables people to experience music from virtually unlimited sources viaone or more networked playback devices. Through a software controlapplication installed on a smartphone, tablet, or computer, one can playwhat he or she wants in any room that has a networked playback device.Additionally, using the controller, for example, different songs can bestreamed to each room with a playback device, rooms can be groupedtogether for synchronous playback, or the same song can be heard in allrooms synchronously.

Given the ever growing interest in digital media, there continues to bea need to develop consumer-accessible technologies to further enhancethe listening experience.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Features, aspects, and advantages of the presently disclosed technologymay be better understood with regard to the following description,appended claims, and accompanying drawings where:

FIG. 1 shows an example media playback system configuration in whichcertain embodiments may be practiced;

FIG. 2 shows a functional block diagram of an example playback device;

FIG. 3 shows a functional block diagram of an example control device;

FIG. 4 shows an example controller interface;

FIG. 5 shows an example flow diagram for facilitating playback of mediaitems on a webpage by a playback zone of a media playback system; and

FIGS. 6A-6D show example webpage representations with playable mediaitems.

The drawings are for the purpose of illustrating example embodiments,but it is understood that the inventions are not limited to thearrangements and instrumentality shown in the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION I. Overview

Embodiments described herein involve the playback of media items from awebpage by a playback zone of a media playback system. In oneembodiment, playback zones in a media playback system are identifiedwhen a web-browsing interface is launched. When a webpage is displayedon the web-browsing interface, one or more links to playable media itemson the webpage are identified, and the webpage is modified such that oneor more representations corresponding to the one or more links areselectable to cause the respective playback media items to be played byone or more of the identified playback zones.

In one example, a selection of a representation will prompt a display ofthe identified playback zones from which the user can choose a playbackzone to play the corresponding media item. In another example, the mediaitem may be added to a playback queue associated with the selectedplayback zone in addition to, or instead of being immediately played bythe selected playback zone.

As indicated above, the present application involves facilitatingplayback of media items on a webpage by a playback zone of a mediaplayback system. In one aspect, a method is provided. The methodinvolves identifying one or more playback zones of a media playbacksystem upon opening a web-browsing interface, identifying on a webpage,a link to a playable media item, and modifying the webpage such that arepresentation associated with the link is selectable to cause the mediaitem to be played in the one or more playback zones.

In another aspect, a device is provided. The device includes aprocessor, and memory having stored thereon instructions executable bythe processor to cause the device to perform functions. The functionsinclude identifying one or more playback zones of a media playbacksystem upon opening a web-browsing interface, identifying on a webpage,a link to a playable media item, and modifying the webpage such that arepresentation associated with the link is selectable to cause the mediaitem to be played in the one or more playback zones.

In yet another aspect, a non-transitory computer readable memory isprovided. The non-transitory computer readable memory has stored thereoninstructions executable by a computing device to cause the computingdevice to perform functions. The functions include identifying one ormore playback zones of a media playback system upon opening aweb-browsing interface, identifying on a webpage, a link to a playablemedia item, and modifying the webpage such that a representationassociated with the link is selectable to cause the media item to beplayed in the one or more playback zones.

The present application further involves playing media items on awebpage in a playback zone of a media playback system. In one aspect, amethod is provided. The method involves displaying on a web-browsinginterface, a representation associated with a link to a media item, andresponsive to a first input indicating a selection of therepresentation, displaying a list of one or more playback zones in amedia playback system. The one or more playback zones are identifiedupon, or subsequent to a launching of the web-browsing interface. Themethod also involves causing the particular playback zone to play themedia item responsive to a second input indicating a selection of aparticular playback zone in the list of one or more playback zones.

In another aspect, a device is provided. The device includes aprocessor, and memory having stored thereon instructions executable bythe processor to cause the device to perform functions. The functionsinclude displaying on a web-browsing interface, a representationassociated with a link to a media item, and responsive to a first inputindicating a selection of the representation, displaying a list of oneor more playback zones in a media playback system. The one or moreplayback zones are identified upon, or subsequent to a launching of theweb-browsing interface. The functions also include causing theparticular playback zone to play the media item responsive to a secondinput indicating a selection of a particular playback zone in the listof one or more playback zones.

In yet another aspect, a non-transitory computer readable memory isprovided. The non-transitory computer readable memory has stored thereoninstructions executable by a computing device to cause the computingdevice to perform functions. The functions include displaying on aweb-browsing interface, a representation associated with a link to amedia item, and responsive to a first input indicating a selection ofthe representation, displaying a list of one or more playback zones in amedia playback system. The one or more playback zones are identifiedupon, or subsequent to a launching of the web-browsing interface. Thefunctions also include causing the particular playback zone to play themedia item responsive to a second input indicating a selection of aparticular playback zone in the list of one or more playback zones.

It will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that thisdisclosure includes numerous other embodiments.

II. Example Operating Environment

FIG. 1 shows an example configuration of a media playback system 100 inwhich one or more embodiments disclosed herein may be practiced orimplemented. The media playback system 100 as shown is associated withan example home environment having several rooms and spaces, such as forexample, a master bedroom, an office, a dining room, and a living room.As shown in the example of FIG. 1, the media playback system 100includes playback devices 102-124, control devices 126 and 128, and awired or wireless network router 130.

Further discussions relating to the different components of the examplemedia playback system 100 and how the different components may interactto provide a user with a media experience may be found in the followingsections. While discussions herein may generally refer to the examplemedia playback system 100, technologies described herein are not limitedto applications within, among other things, the home environment asshown in FIG. 1. For instance, the technologies described herein may beuseful in environments where multi-zone audio may be desired, such as,for example, a commercial setting like a restaurant, mall or airport, avehicle like a sports utility vehicle (SUV), bus or car, a ship or boat,an airplane, and so on.

a. Example Playback Devices

FIG. 2 shows a functional block diagram of an example playback device200 that may be configured to be one or more of the playback devices102-124 of the media playback system 100 of FIG. 1. The playback device200 may include a processor 202, software components 204, memory 206,audio processing components 208, audio amplifier(s) 210, speaker(s) 212,and a network interface 214 including wireless interface(s) 216 andwired interface(s) 218. In one case, the playback device 200 may notinclude the speaker(s) 212, but rather a speaker interface forconnecting the playback device 200 to external speakers. In anothercase, the playback device 200 may include neither the speaker(s) 212 northe audio amplifier(s) 210, but rather an audio interface for connectingthe playback device 200 to an external audio amplifier or audio-visualreceiver.

In one example, the processor 202 may be a clock-driven computingcomponent configured to process input data according to instructionsstored in the memory 206. The memory 206 may be a tangiblecomputer-readable medium configured to store instructions executable bythe processor 202. For instance, the memory 206 may be data storage thatcan be loaded with one or more of the software components 204 executableby the processor 202 to achieve certain functions. In one example, thefunctions may involve the playback device 200 retrieving audio data froman audio source or another playback device. In another example, thefunctions may involve the playback device 200 sending audio data toanother device or playback device on a network. In yet another example,the functions may involve pairing of the playback device 200 with one ormore playback devices to create a multi-channel audio environment.

Certain functions may involve the playback device 200 synchronizingplayback of audio content with one or more other playback devices.During synchronous playback, a listener will preferably not be able toperceive time-delay differences between playback of the audio content bythe playback device 200 and the one or more other playback devices. U.S.Pat. No. 8,234,395 entitled, “System and method for synchronizingoperations among a plurality of independently clocked digital dataprocessing devices,” which is hereby incorporated by reference, providesin more detail some examples for audio playback synchronization amongplayback devices.

The memory 206 may further be configured to store data associated withthe playback device 200, such as one or more zones and/or zone groupsthe playback device 200 is a part of, audio sources accessible by theplayback device 200, or a playback queue that the playback device 200(or some other playback device) may be associated with. The data may bestored as one or more state variables that are periodically updated andused to describe the state of the playback device 200. The memory 206may also include the data associated with the state of the other devicesof the media system, and shared from time to time among the devices sothat one or more of the devices have the most recent data associatedwith the system. Other embodiments are also possible.

The audio processing components 208 may include one or moredigital-to-analog converters (DAC), an audio preprocessing component, anaudio enhancement component or a digital signal processor (DSP), and soon. In one embodiment, one or more of the audio processing components208 may be a subcomponent of the processor 202. In one example, audiocontent may be processed and/or intentionally altered by the audioprocessing components 208 to produce audio signals. The produced audiosignals may then be provided to the audio amplifier(s) 210 foramplification and playback through speaker(s) 212. Particularly, theaudio amplifier(s) 210 may include devices configured to amplify audiosignals to a level for driving one or more of the speakers 212. Thespeaker(s) 212 may include an individual transducer (e.g., a “driver”)or a complete speaker system involving an enclosure with one or moredrivers. A particular driver of the speaker(s) 212 may include, forexample, a subwoofer (e.g., for low frequencies), a mid-range driver(e.g., for middle frequencies), and/or a tweeter (e.g., for highfrequencies). In some cases, each transducer in the one or more speakers212 may be driven by an individual corresponding audio amplifier of theaudio amplifier(s) 210. In addition to producing analog signals forplayback by the playback device 200, the audio processing components 208may be configured to process audio content to be sent to one or moreother playback devices for playback.

Audio content to be processed and/or played back by the playback device200 may be received from an external source, such as via an audioline-in input connection (e.g., an auto-detecting 3.5 mm audio line-inconnection) or the network interface 214.

The network interface 214 may be configured to facilitate a data flowbetween the playback device 200 and one or more other devices on a datanetwork. As such, the playback device 200 may be configured to receiveaudio content over the data network from one or more other playbackdevices in communication with the playback device 200, network deviceswithin a local area network, or audio content sources over a wide areanetwork such as the Internet. In one example, the audio content andother signals transmitted and received by the playback device 200 may betransmitted in the form of digital packet data containing an InternetProtocol (IP)-based source address and IP-based destination addresses.In such a case, the network interface 214 may be configured to parse thedigital packet data such that the data destined for the playback device200 is properly received and processed by the playback device 200.

As shown, the network interface 214 may include wireless interface(s)216 and wired interface(s) 218. The wireless interface(s) 216 mayprovide network interface functions for the playback device 200 towirelessly communicate with other devices (e.g., other playbackdevice(s), speaker(s), receiver(s), network device(s), control device(s)within a data network the playback device 200 is associated with) inaccordance with a communication protocol (e.g., any wireless standardincluding IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11 ac, 802.15, 4Gmobile communication standard, and so on). The wired interface(s) 218may provide network interface functions for the playback device 200 tocommunicate over a wired connection with other devices in accordancewith a communication protocol (e.g., IEEE 802.3). While the networkinterface 214 shown in FIG. 2 includes both wireless interface(s) 216and wired interface(s) 218, the network interface 214 may in someembodiments include only wireless interface(s) or only wiredinterface(s).

In one example, the playback device 200 and one other playback devicemay be paired to play two separate audio components of audio content.For instance, playback device 200 may be configured to play a leftchannel audio component, while the other playback device may beconfigured to play a right channel audio component, thereby producing orenhancing a stereo effect of the audio content. The paired playbackdevices (also referred to as “bonded playback devices”) may further playaudio content in synchrony with other playback devices.

In another example, the playback device 200 may be sonicallyconsolidated with one or more other playback devices to form a single,consolidated playback device. A consolidated playback device may beconfigured to process and reproduce sound differently than anunconsolidated playback device or playback devices that are paired,because a consolidated playback device may have additional speakerdrivers through which audio content may be rendered. For instance, ifthe playback device 200 is a playback device designed to render lowfrequency range audio content (i.e. a subwoofer), the playback device200 may be consolidated with a playback device designed to render fullfrequency range audio content. In such a case, the full frequency rangeplayback device, when consolidated with the low frequency playbackdevice 200, may be configured to render only the mid and high frequencycomponents of audio content, while the low frequency range playbackdevice 200 renders the low frequency component of the audio content. Theconsolidated playback device may further be paired with a singleplayback device or yet another consolidated playback device.

By way of illustration, SONOS, Inc. presently offers (or has offered)for sale certain playback devices including a “PLAY:1,” “PLAY:3,”“PLAY:5,” “PLAYBAR,” “CONNECT:AMP,” “CONNECT,” and “SUB.” Any otherpast, present, and/or future playback devices may additionally oralternatively be used to implement the playback devices of exampleembodiments disclosed herein. Additionally, it is understood that aplayback device is not limited to the example illustrated in FIG. 2 orto the SONOS product offerings. For example, a playback device mayinclude a wired or wireless headphone. In another example, a playbackdevice may include or interact with a docking station for personalmobile media playback devices. In yet another example, a playback devicemay be integral to another device or component such as a television, alighting fixture, or some other device for indoor or outdoor use.

b. Example Playback Zone Configurations

Referring back to the media playback system 100 of FIG. 1, theenvironment may have one or more playback zones, each with one or moreplayback devices. The media playback system 100 may be established withone or more playback zones, after which one or more zones may be added,or removed to arrive at the example configuration shown in FIG. 1. Eachzone may be given a name according to a different room or space such asan office, bathroom, master bedroom, bedroom, kitchen, dining room,living room, and/or balcony. In one case, a single playback zone mayinclude multiple rooms or spaces. In another case, a single room orspace may include multiple playback zones.

As shown in FIG. 1, the balcony, dining room, kitchen, bathroom, office,and bedroom zones each have one playback device, while the living roomand master bedroom zones each have multiple playback devices. In theliving room zone, playback devices 104, 106, 108, and 110 may beconfigured to play audio content in synchrony as individual playbackdevices, as one or more bonded playback devices, as one or moreconsolidated playback devices, or any combination thereof. Similarly, inthe case of the master bedroom, playback devices 122 and 124 may beconfigured to play audio content in synchrony as individual playbackdevices, as a bonded playback device, or as a consolidated playbackdevice.

In one example, one or more playback zones in the environment of FIG. 1may each be playing different audio content. For instance, the user maybe grilling in the balcony zone and listening to hip hop music beingplayed by the playback device 102 while another user may be preparingfood in the kitchen zone and listening to classical music being playedby the playback device 114. In another example, a playback zone may playthe same audio content in synchrony with another playback zone. Forinstance, the user may be in the office zone where the playback device118 is playing the same rock music that is being playing by playbackdevice 102 in the balcony zone. In such a case, playback devices 102 and118 may be playing the rock music in synchrony such that the user mayseamlessly (or at least substantially seamlessly) enjoy the audiocontent that is being played out-loud while moving between differentplayback zones. Synchronization among playback zones may be achieved ina manner similar to that of synchronization among playback devices, asdescribed in previously referenced U.S. Pat. No. 8,234,395.

As suggested above, the zone configurations of the media playback system100 may be dynamically modified, and in some embodiments, the mediaplayback system 100 supports numerous configurations. For instance, if auser physically moves one or more playback devices to or from a zone,the media playback system 100 may be reconfigured to accommodate thechange(s). For instance, if the user physically moves the playbackdevice 102 from the balcony zone to the office zone, the office zone maynow include both the playback device 118 and the playback device 102.The playback device 102 may be paired or grouped with the office zoneand/or renamed if so desired via a control device such as the controldevices 126 and 128. On the other hand, if the one or more playbackdevices are moved to a particular area in the home environment that isnot already a playback zone, a new playback zone may be created for theparticular area.

Further, different playback zones of the media playback system 100 maybe dynamically combined into zone groups or split up into individualplayback zones. For instance, the dining room zone and the kitchen zone114 may be combined into a zone group for a dinner party such thatplayback devices 112 and 114 may render audio content in synchrony. Onthe other hand, the living room zone may be split into a television zoneincluding playback device 104, and a listening zone including playbackdevices 106, 108, and 110, if the user wishes to listen to music in theliving room space while another user wishes to watch television.

c. Example Control Devices

FIG. 3 shows a functional block diagram of an example control device 300that may be configured to be one or both of the control devices 126 and128 of the media playback system 100. As shown, the control device 300may include a processor 302, memory 304, a network interface 306, and auser interface 308. In one example, the control device 300 may be adedicated controller for the media playback system 100. In anotherexample, the control device 300 may be a network device on which mediaplayback system controller application software may be installed, suchas for example, an iPhone™, iPad™ or any other smart phone, tablet ornetwork device (e.g., a networked computer such as a PC or Mac™).

The processor 302 may be configured to perform functions relevant tofacilitating user access, control, and configuration of the mediaplayback system 100. The memory 304 may be configured to storeinstructions executable by the processor 302 to perform those functions.The memory 304 may also be configured to store the media playback systemcontroller application software and other data associated with the mediaplayback system 100 and the user.

In one example, the network interface 306 may be based on an industrystandard (e.g., infrared, radio, wired standards including IEEE 802.3,wireless standards including IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n,802.11ac, 802.15, 4G mobile communication standard, and so on). Thenetwork interface 306 may provide a means for the control device 300 tocommunicate with other devices in the media playback system 100. In oneexample, data and information (e.g., such as a state variable) may becommunicated between control device 300 and other devices via thenetwork interface 306. For instance, playback zone and zone groupconfigurations in the media playback system 100 may be received by thecontrol device 300 from a playback device or another network device, ortransmitted by the control device 300 to another playback device ornetwork device via the network interface 306. In some cases, the othernetwork device may be another control device.

Playback device control commands such as volume control and audioplayback control may also be communicated from the control device 300 toa playback device via the network interface 306. As suggested above,changes to configurations of the media playback system 100 may also beperformed by a user using the control device 300. The configurationchanges may include adding/removing one or more playback devices to/froma zone, adding/removing one or more zones to/from a zone group, forminga bonded or consolidated player, separating one or more playback devicesfrom a bonded or consolidated player, among others. Accordingly, thecontrol device 300 may sometimes be referred to as a controller, whetherthe control device 300 is a dedicated controller or a network device onwhich media playback system controller application software isinstalled.

The user interface 308 of the control device 300 may be configured tofacilitate user access and control of the media playback system 100, byproviding a controller interface such as the controller interface 400shown in FIG. 4. The controller interface 400 includes a playbackcontrol region 410, a playback zone region 420, a playback status region430, a playback queue region 440, and an audio content sources region450. The user interface 400 as shown is just one example of a userinterface that may be provided on a network device such as the controldevice 300 of FIG. 3 (and/or the control devices 126 and 128 of FIG. 1)and accessed by users to control a media playback system such as themedia playback system 100. Other user interfaces of varying formats,styles, and interactive sequences may alternatively be implemented onone or more network devices to provide comparable control access to amedia playback system.

The playback control region 410 may include selectable (e.g., by way oftouch or by using a cursor) icons to cause playback devices in aselected playback zone or zone group to play or pause, fast forward,rewind, skip to next, skip to previous, enter/exit shuffle mode,enter/exit repeat mode, enter/exit cross fade mode. The playback controlregion 410 may also include selectable icons to modify equalizationsettings, and playback volume, among other possibilities.

The playback zone region 420 may include representations of playbackzones within the media playback system 100. In some embodiments, thegraphical representations of playback zones may be selectable to bringup additional selectable icons to manage or configure the playback zonesin the media playback system, such as a creation of bonded zones,creation of zone groups, separation of zone groups, and renaming of zonegroups, among other possibilities.

For example, as shown, a “group” icon may be provided within each of thegraphical representations of playback zones. The “group” icon providedwithin a graphical representation of a particular zone may be selectableto bring up options to select one or more other zones in the mediaplayback system to be grouped with the particular zone. Once grouped,playback devices in the zones that have been grouped with the particularzone will be configured to play audio content in synchrony with theplayback device(s) in the particular zone. Analogously, a “group” iconmay be provided within a graphical representation of a zone group. Inthis case, the “group” icon may be selectable to bring up options todeselect one or more zones in the zone group to be removed from the zonegroup. Other interactions and implementations for grouping andungrouping zones via a user interface such as the user interface 400 arealso possible. The representations of playback zones in the playbackzone region 420 may be dynamically updated as playback zone or zonegroup configurations are modified.

The playback status region 430 may include graphical representations ofaudio content that is presently being played, previously played, orscheduled to play next in the selected playback zone or zone group. Theselected playback zone or zone group may be visually distinguished onthe user interface, such as within the playback zone region 420 and/orthe playback status region 430. The graphical representations mayinclude track title, artist name, album name, album year, track length,and other relevant information that may be useful for the user to knowwhen controlling the media playback system via the user interface 400.

The playback queue region 440 may include graphical representations ofaudio content in a playback queue associated with the selected playbackzone or zone group. In some embodiments, each playback zone or zonegroup may be associated with a playback queue containing informationcorresponding to zero or more audio items for playback by the playbackzone or zone group. For instance, each audio item in the playback queuemay comprise a uniform resource identifier (URI), a uniform resourcelocator (URL) or some other identifier that may be used by a playbackdevice in the playback zone or zone group to find and/or retrieve theaudio item from a local audio content source or a networked audiocontent source, possibly for playback by the playback device.

In one example, a playlist may be added to a playback queue, in whichcase information corresponding to each audio item in the playlist may beadded to the playback queue. In another example, audio items in aplayback queue may be saved as a playlist. In a further example, aplayback queue may be empty, or populated but “not in use” when theplayback zone or zone group is playing continuously streaming audiocontent, such as Internet radio that may continue to play untilotherwise stopped, rather than discrete audio items that have playbackdurations. In an alternative embodiment, a playback queue can includeInternet radio and/or other streaming audio content items and be “inuse” when the playback zone or zone group is playing those items. Otherexamples are also possible.

When playback zones or zone groups are “grouped” or “ungrouped,”playback queues associated with the affected playback zones or zonegroups may be cleared or re-associated. For example, if a first playbackzone including a first playback queue is grouped with a second playbackzone including a second playback queue, the established zone group mayhave an associated playback queue that is initially empty, that containsaudio items from the first playback queue (such as if the secondplayback zone was added to the first playback zone), that contains audioitems from the second playback queue (such as if the first playback zonewas added to the second playback zone), or a combination of audio itemsfrom both the first and second playback queues. Subsequently, if theestablished zone group is ungrouped, the resulting first playback zonemay be re-associated with the previous first playback queue, or beassociated with a new playback queue that is empty or contains audioitems from the playback queue associated with the established zone groupbefore the established zone group was ungrouped. Similarly, theresulting second playback zone may be re-associated with the previoussecond playback queue, or be associated with a new playback queue thatis empty, or contains audio items from the playback queue associatedwith the established zone group before the established zone group wasungrouped. Other examples are also possible.

Referring back to the user interface 400 of FIG. 4, the graphicalrepresentations of audio content in the playback queue region 440 mayinclude track titles, artist names, track lengths, and other relevantinformation associated with the audio content in the playback queue. Inone example, graphical representations of audio content may beselectable to bring up additional selectable icons to manage and/ormanipulate the playback queue and/or audio content represented in theplayback queue. For instance, a represented audio content may be removedfrom the playback queue, moved to a different position within theplayback queue, or selected to be played immediately, or after anycurrently playing audio content, among other possibilities. A playbackqueue associated with a playback zone or zone group may be stored in amemory on one or more playback devices in the playback zone or zonegroup, on a playback device that is not in the playback zone or zonegroup, and/or some other designated device.

The audio content sources region 450 may include graphicalrepresentations of selectable audio content sources from which audiocontent may be retrieved and played by the selected playback zone orzone group. Discussions pertaining to audio content sources may be foundin the following section.

d. Example Audio Content Sources

As indicated previously, one or more playback devices in a zone or zonegroup may be configured to retrieve for playback audio content (e.g.according to a corresponding URI or URL for the audio content) from avariety of available audio content sources. In one example, audiocontent may be retrieved by a playback device directly from acorresponding audio content source (e.g., a line-in connection). Inanother example, audio content may be provided to a playback device overa network via one or more other playback devices or network devices.

Example audio content sources may include a memory of one or moreplayback devices in a media playback system such as the media playbacksystem 100 of FIG. 1, local music libraries on one or more networkdevices (such as a control device, a network-enabled personal computer,or a networked-attached storage (NAS), for example), streaming audioservices providing audio content via the Internet (e.g., the cloud), oraudio sources connected to the media playback system via a line-in inputconnection on a playback device or network devise, among otherpossibilities.

In some embodiments, audio content sources may be regularly added orremoved from a media playback system such as the media playback system100 of FIG. 1. In one example, an indexing of audio items may beperformed whenever one or more audio content sources are added, removedor updated. Indexing of audio items may involve scanning foridentifiable audio items in all folders/directory shared over a networkaccessible by playback devices in the media playback system, andgenerating or updating an audio content database containing metadata(e.g., title, artist, album, track length, among others) and otherassociated information, such as a URI or URL for each identifiable audioitem found. Other examples for managing and maintaining audio contentsources may also be possible.

The above discussions relating to playback devices, controller devices,playback zone configurations, and media content sources provide onlysome examples of operating environments within which functions andmethods described below may be implemented. Other operating environmentsand configurations of media playback systems, playback devices, andnetwork devices not explicitly described herein may also be applicableand suitable for implementation of the functions and methods.

III. Example Methods for Playback of Media Items on a Webpage by aPlayback Zone

As discussed above, embodiments described herein involve playback ofmedia items from a webpage by a playback zone of a media playbacksystem. Method 500 shown in FIG. 5 presents an embodiment of a methodfor facilitating such a playback of media items. The method 500 may canbe implemented within an operating environment involving, for example,the media playback system 100 of FIG. 1, one or more of the playbackdevice 200 of FIG. 2, and one or more of the control device 300 of FIG.3. Method 500 may include one or more operations, functions, or actionsas illustrated by one or more of blocks 502-510. Although the blocks areillustrated in sequential order, these blocks may also be performed inparallel, and/or in a different order than those described herein. Also,the various blocks may be combined into fewer blocks, divided intoadditional blocks, and/or removed based upon the desired implementation.

In addition, for the method 500 and other processes and methodsdisclosed herein, the flowchart shows functionality and operation of apossible implementation of present embodiments. In this regard, eachblock may represent a module, a segment, or a portion of program code,which includes one or more instructions executable by a processor forimplementing specific logical functions or steps in the process. Theprogram code may be stored on any type of computer readable medium, forexample, such as a storage device including a disk or hard drive. Thecomputer readable medium may include non-transitory computer readablemedium, for example, such as computer-readable media that stores datafor short periods of time like register memory, processor cache andRandom Access Memory (RAM). The computer readable medium may alsoinclude non-transitory media, such as secondary or persistent long termstorage, like read only memory (ROM), optical or magnetic disks,compact-disc read only memory (CD-ROM), for example. The computerreadable media may also be any other volatile or non-volatile storagesystems. The computer readable medium may be considered a computerreadable storage medium, for example, or a tangible storage device. Inaddition, for the method 500 and other processes and methods disclosedherein, each block in FIG. 5 may represent circuitry that is wired toperform the specific logical functions in the process.

At block 502, the method 500 involves identifying one or more playbackzones of a media playback system. In one example, the identification ofthe one or more playback zones may be performed upon opening orlaunching a web-browsing interface on a device, such as a computer ormobile device. As described above in section II, each playback zone inthe media playback system may include one or more playback devices. Inother example, the identification of the one or more playback zones maybe performed at some time subsequent to launching the web-browsinginterface. For instance, identification may occur upon selecting a mediaitem link, or upon loading a webpage by the web-browsing interface.

In one example, each of the playback devices in the media playbacksystem may be connected to a local area network (LAN) according to aUniversal Plug and Play (UPnP) network protocol. As such, each of theplayback devices in the media playback system may be discovered by otherdevices, including the device providing the web-browsing interface, thatare also connected to the LAN according to the UPnP network protocol.The one or more playback zones in the media playback system may beidentified based on the identified playback devices.

In some cases, other UPnP capable devices, such as printers, NASdevices, and televisions, among others, that are not part of the mediaplayback system may also be discovered according to the UPnP protocol.In such cases, the process of identifying playback zones in the mediaplayback system may further involve filtering out devices that are notpart of the media playback system. For instance, devices in the mediaplayback system may each have a device name (or device identification)that is based on a particular naming convention, and discernable fromnames of devices that are not part of the media playback system. Assuch, filtering out devices that are not part of the media playbacksystem may involve a search for devices having device names fitting theparticular naming convention of devices in the media playback system.

In another example, identification of the one or more playback zones mayinvolve a user account of the user. For instance, the media playbacksystem may be associated with an email address that the user providedwhen registering the media playback system. As such, if a user logs intothe email account or otherwise provides the email address to theweb-browsing interface, the media playback system associated with theemail address may be identified, and accordingly, playback zones of themedia playback system may also be identified. In this embodiment, thedevice providing the web-browsing interface may not need to be on thesame network as the media playback system in order to identify theplayback zones in the media playback system. Rather, the web-browsinginterface device may need to have access via a wide area network (WAN)for example, to a server where account information associated with themedia playback system is stored. In another case, if a controllersoftware application for the media playback system is installed and/orlaunched on the device providing the web-browsing interface, identifyingthe playback zones of the media playback system may involve retrievingplayback zone information from the controller software application.

In yet another example, identification of the one or more playback zonesmay involve retrieving previously stored data indicating the one or moreplayback zones in the media playback system. In one case, during aprevious launching of the web-browsing interface, the playback zones ofthe media playback system were identified as described above, and dataindicating the identified playback zones was stored. In one instance,the data indicating the identified playback zones may be stored in acloud server. In another instance, the data may be stored locally on theweb-browsing interface device. In a further instance, the data storedlocally on the web-browsing interface device may be stored inassociation with the controller software application for the mediaplayback system, as discussed above. In another case, a discovery of theplayback zones, such as described above, may be performed periodically,and data indicating the identified playback zones may be stored and/orupdated. In these cases, the stored data may be retrieved when theweb-browsing interface is launched again. Other examples, includingvariations and combinations of those described above are also possible.

At block 504 in FIG. 5, the method 500 involves identifying on awebpage, a link to a playable media item. In one example, the user mayaccess a webpage by sending a request according to a Hypertext TransferProtocol (HTTP) by entering a URL into the web-browsing interface. Inresponse to the request, the web-browsing interface may receive aHypertext Markup Language (HTML) file indicating the webpage.

Identifying a link to a playable media item on the webpage may involvesearching the received HTML file for references to playable media items.For instance, if the playback devices of the media playback system arecapable of playing files with file extensions .wav, .m4a, and .mp3, thena search may be performed in the received HTML file for references tofiles having file extensions .wav, .m4a, or .mp3. One having ordinaryskill in the art will understand that .wav, .m4a, and .mp3 are onlyexample file extensions, and will appreciate that other file formats foraudio and/or visual files may also be playable by devices in the mediaplayback system and accordingly searched for when identifying links toplayable media items on the webpage.

When the web-browsing interface displays the website, the link to themedia item may be provided in the form of a selectable graphical ortextual link representation, among others. In discussions herein, aselection of the link representation or any representation associatedwith a link may involve one or more mouse-clicks, finger taps or otheruser interactions on the representation. Other examples are alsopossible.

In one case, a selection of the link representation may cause mediaplayback software to be launched to play the media item. In anothercase, a selection of the link representation may cause the web-browsinginterface to prompt the user to indicate what the user wishes to do withthe media item. For instance, a list of options may be provided for theuser to select, including saving the media item, playing the media itemwith a particular certain media playback software, and opening the mediaitem within the web-browsing interface using some web-browsing interfaceplug-in application, among other examples.

At block 506, the method involves modifying the webpage such that arepresentation associated with the link is selectable to cause the mediaitem to be played in the one or more playback zones. Modifying thewebpage may involve modifying the received HTML file. In one example,the webpage may be modified before the web-browsing interface displaysthe webpage. In other words, the web-browsing interface displays onlythe modified webpage and not the originally received webpage. In anotherexample, the originally received webpage may be initially displayed bythe web-browsing interface until modification of the webpage iscomplete, at which point the web-browsing interface may be updated withthe modified webpage. Other examples are also possible.

In some embodiments, causing the media item to be played in the one ormore playback zones may involve adding the media content to a playbackqueue associated with the one or more playback zones. For instance, themedia item may be added to the playback queue prior to playback of themedia item. As such, in discussions herein, a selection of therepresentation to cause the media item to be played in the one or moreplayback zones may cause the media item to be played immediately, causethe media item to be added to the playback queue, or both.

FIGS. 6A-6D shows example modified webpages 600 and 650 withrepresentations associated with links to media items that are selectableto cause the media items to be played in one or more identified playbackzones. As shown in FIG. 6A, webpage 600 includes content 602. Thecontent 602 may include representations 606 and 608 that are selectableto cause media items corresponding to the respective representations 606and 608 to be played in the one or more playback zones. In this example,the respective representations 606 and 608 may be in form of buttons.The representations 606 and 608 may not be visually different from linkrepresentations to the media items on the originally received webpage.

As shown, a selection of the representation 608 may cause theweb-browsing interface to prompt the user to indicate what the userwishes to do with the media item by providing a list of executableoptions 610. The options 610 in this example may include “Open Link inNew Tab,” “Open Link in New Window,” and “Copy Link Address” that mayhave also been available when selecting link representations on theoriginally received webpage. In this case, however, the options 610 alsoinclude “Play to Media System” and “Queue to Media System” which werenot available when selecting link representations on the originallyreceived webpage. As previously indicated, selecting “Play to MediaSystem” may cause the media item corresponding to representation 608 tobe played by the one or more playback zones in the media playbacksystem, while selecting “Queue to Media System” may cause the media itemcorresponding to representation 608 to be added to a playback queueassociated with the one or more playback zones in the media playbacksystem. Other options that are not shown or discussed may also be in theexecutable options 610. Further, one having ordinary skill in the artwill appreciate that while the displayed position of the options 610appears to be proximal to the selected representation, display of theoptions 610 may alternatively be displayed anywhere on the web-browsinginterface.

FIG. 6B shows a webpage 650 that includes textual content 652. Forillustration purposes, in this example, the textual content 652 includesimbedded textual representations 656 and 658 as opposed to the buttontype graphical representations 606 and 608 of FIG. 6A. Nevertheless, thetextual representations 656 and 658 are also selectable to cause mediaitems corresponding to the respective textual representations 656 and658 to be played in the one or more playback zones. Further, therepresentations 656 and 658 may also not be visually different from linkrepresentations to the media items on the originally received webpage,and a selection of the textual representation 656 or 658, as shown, mayalso cause the web-browsing interface to prompt the user to indicatewhat the user wishes to do with the corresponding media item byproviding the list of executable options 610.

In another example, the representation associated with the link mayreplace the link representation on the originally received webpage toindicate that the media item can be played in the one or more playbackzones. FIG. 6C shows the webpage 600 with content 602 similar to thatshown in FIG. 6A. In this example, however, the representations 606′ and608′ are visually different from the representations 606 and 608 of FIG.6A, and accordingly different from the link representations to the mediaitems on the originally received webpage. In other words, in thisexample, the representations 606′ and 608′ replace the linkrepresentations on the originally received webpage. As shown, therepresentations 606′ and 608′ may be in the form of buttons with text“Play to Media System” (instead of “Play Now,” as was the case withrepresentations 606 and 608 and/or the link representations on theoriginally received webpage) to imply that a selection of therepresentations may cause the corresponding media items to be played byone or more playback zones in the media playback system.

In yet another example, the representation associated with the link maybe in the form of a representative icon proximal to the linkrepresentation on the originally received webpage indicating the optionto cause the media item to be played in the one or more playback zones.FIG. 6D shows the webpage 600 with content 602 similar to that shown inFIGS. 6A and 6C. In this example, however, representation 606 and 608may still be displayed on the website 600, and the content 602 mayfurther include representative icons 632 and 634. In this example, icon632 may be associated with representation 606 and icon 634 may beassociated with representation 608. In one case, the icon 632 and icon634 may be merely informative, indicating that selections of therepresentation 606 and representation 608, respectively, may cause mediaitems corresponding to the respective representations 606 and 608 to beplayed in the one or more playback zones. In another case, selections ofthe representations 606 and 608 may cause actions (such as launchingmedia playback software to play the corresponding media items) similarto that if the same associated link representations were selected in theoriginally receive webpage. However, in this case, the icons 632 and 634may be selectable to cause the corresponding media items to be played inthe one or more playback zones of the media playback system. Otherexamples that are not shown or discussed are also possible.

Referring back to method 500 in FIG. 5, block 508 involves displaying alist of the one or more playback zones of the media playback system inresponse to a first input. The one or more playback zones of the mediaplayback system are the one or more playback zones identified at block502. In the examples shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the first input may be aselection of “Play to Media System” or “Queue to Media System” in theoptions 610. In the example shown in FIG. 6C, the first input may be aselection of the representation 606′ or 608′, and in the example shownin FIG. 6D, the first input may be a selection of the representativeicons 632 or 634. In each of the above examples, a playback zones list612 may be displayed in response to the first input.

As shown, the playback zones list 612 may include “Playback Zone 1,”“Playback Zone 3,” and “Playback Zone 4.” In one example, the playbackzones in the list 612 may be ordered according to alphabetical order ofthe zone names. In another example, the playback zones in the list 612may be ordered chronologically according to when each playback zone wascreated or when each playback zone most recently played media content.In yet another example, the playback zones in the list 612 may beordered according to physical proximities between the computing deviceproviding the web-browsing interface and the respective one or moreplayback zones. For instance, if a user is using the web-browsinginterface on a tablet or personal computer in “Playback Zone 3”, then“Playback Zone 3” may be listed first. In a further example, if the oneor more playback zones were identified based on information retrievedfrom the controller software application for the media playback system,a playback zone that is currently being accessed via the controllersoftware application running on the web-browsing interface device may belisted first. Other examples are also possible.

In addition, the playback zones in the list 612 may be listed or orderedaccording to playback states of the playback zones. For instance,playback zones that are not currently playing any media content may belisted first. Along the same lines, an icon or some other graphicaleffect may be provided in the playback zones list 612 to indicate thatcertain playback zones are currently playing media content, and otherplayback zones are not. In some cases, playback zones that are currentlyplaying media content may not be available to play media items from thewebpage 600 or 650. In one case, the unavailable playback zone may begrayed out and/or non-selectable. In another case, the unavailableplayback zone may not be included in the list 612 at all. In addition tothose described and/or suggested above, other selectable representationsmay be provided while maintaining the same or similar functionalities ofplaying the corresponding media item or prompting for additional inputfrom the user are also possible.

At block 510 in FIG. 5, the method 550 involves causing a particularplayback zone of the media playback system to play the playable mediaitem in response to a second input. In one example, the second input mayinvolve a selection of the particular playback zone from the list of theone or more playback zones. Upon the selection of the particularplayback zone, the link to the media item corresponding to therepresentation selected as part of the first input at block 506 may besent to the media playback system to be played in the particularplayback zone. In one example, the link may be sent to a playback devicein the particular playback zone.

As indicated above, the media item may be added to a playback queueassociated with the particular playback zone, in addition to, or insteadof causing the playback zone to play the media item immediately. Inparticular, if “Queue to Media System” in options 610 was selected inthe examples shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the media item is first added tothe associated playback queue before the media item may be subsequentlyplayed by the particular playback zone. Other examples are alsopossible.

IV. Conclusion

The description above discloses, among other things, various examplesystems, methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture including,among other components, firmware and/or software executed on hardware.It is understood that such examples are merely illustrative and shouldnot be considered as limiting. For example, it is contemplated that anyor all of the firmware, hardware, and/or software aspects or componentscan be embodied exclusively in hardware, exclusively in software,exclusively in firmware, or in any combination of hardware, software,and/or firmware. Accordingly, the examples provided are not the onlyway(s) to implement such systems, methods, apparatus, and/or articles ofmanufacture.

As indicated above, the present application involves facilitatingplayback of media items on a webpage by a playback zone of a mediaplayback system. In one aspect, a method is provided. The methodinvolves identifying one or more playback zones of a media playbacksystem upon opening a web-browsing interface, identifying on a webpage,a link to a playable media item, and modifying the webpage such that arepresentation associated with the link is selectable to cause the mediaitem to be played in the one or more playback zones.

In another aspect, a device is provided. The device includes aprocessor, and memory having stored thereon instructions executable bythe processor to cause the device to perform functions. The functionsinclude identifying one or more playback zones of a media playbacksystem upon opening a web-browsing interface, identifying on a webpage,a link to a playable media item, and modifying the webpage such that arepresentation associated with the link is selectable to cause the mediaitem to be played in the one or more playback zones.

In yet another aspect, a non-transitory computer readable memory isprovided. The non-transitory computer readable memory has stored thereoninstructions executable by a computing device to cause the computingdevice to perform functions. The functions include identifying one ormore playback zones of a media playback system upon opening aweb-browsing interface, identifying on a webpage, a link to a playablemedia item, and modifying the webpage such that a representationassociated with the link is selectable to cause the media item to beplayed in the one or more playback zones.

The present application further involves playing media items on awebpage in a playback zone of a media playback system. In one aspect, amethod is provided. The method involves displaying on a web-browsinginterface, a representation associated with a link to a media item, andresponsive to a first input indicating a selection of therepresentation, displaying a list of one or more playback zones in amedia playback system. The one or more playback zones are identifiedupon, or subsequent to a launching of the web-browsing interface. Themethod also involves causing the particular playback zone to play themedia item responsive to a second input indicating a selection of aparticular playback zone in the list of one or more playback zones.

In another aspect, a device is provided. The device includes aprocessor, and memory having stored thereon instructions executable bythe processor to cause the device to perform functions. The functionsinclude displaying on a web-browsing interface, a representationassociated with a link to a media item, and responsive to a first inputindicating a selection of the representation, displaying a list of oneor more playback zones in a media playback system. The one or moreplayback zones are identified upon, or subsequent to a launching of theweb-browsing interface. The functions also include causing theparticular playback zone to play the media item responsive to a secondinput indicating a selection of a particular playback zone in the listof one or more playback zones.

In yet another aspect, a non-transitory computer readable memory isprovided. The non-transitory computer readable memory has stored thereoninstructions executable by a computing device to cause the computingdevice to perform functions. The functions include displaying on aweb-browsing interface, a representation associated with a link to amedia item, and responsive to a first input indicating a selection ofthe representation, displaying a list of one or more playback zones in amedia playback system. The one or more playback zones are identifiedupon, or subsequent to a launching of the web-browsing interface. Thefunctions also include causing the particular playback zone to play themedia item responsive to a second input indicating a selection of aparticular playback zone in the list of one or more playback zones.

Additionally, references herein to “embodiment” means that a particularfeature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with theembodiment can be included in at least one example embodiment of aninvention. The appearances of this phrase in various places in thespecification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment,nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of otherembodiments. As such, the embodiments described herein, explicitly andimplicitly understood by one skilled in the art, can be combined withother embodiments.

The specification is presented largely in terms of illustrativeenvironments, systems, procedures, steps, logic blocks, processing, andother symbolic representations that directly or indirectly resemble theoperations of data processing devices coupled to networks. These processdescriptions and representations are typically used by those skilled inthe art to most effectively convey the substance of their work to othersskilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth to provide athorough understanding of the present disclosure. However, it isunderstood to those skilled in the art that certain embodiments of thepresent disclosure can be practiced without certain, specific details.In other instances, well known methods, procedures, components, andcircuitry have not been described in detail to avoid unnecessarilyobscuring aspects of the embodiments. Accordingly, the scope of thepresent disclosure is defined by the appended claims rather than theforgoing description of embodiments.

When any of the appended claims are read to cover a purely softwareand/or firmware implementation, at least one of the elements in at leastone example is hereby expressly defined to include a tangible,non-transitory medium such as a memory, DVD, CD, Blu-ray, and so on,storing the software and/or firmware.

We claim:
 1. A method comprising: upon opening a web-browsing interface,identifying, via a computing device, one or more playback zones of amedia playback system; transmitting, via the computing device, a requestfor a webpage via the web-browsing interface, the request comprising anaddress of the webpage; receiving, via the computing device, therequested webpage comprising a link to a playable media item; modifying,via the computing device, the received webpage such that arepresentation associated with the link is selectable to provide a firstoption to initiate playback of the media item in at least one playbackzone of the one or more playback zones and a second option to add themedia item to a playback queue associated with the at least one playbackzone; causing, via the computing device, display of the modified webpageon the web-browsing interface; responsive to a selection of therepresentation, causing display of the first option and the secondoption; and responsive to a selection of the first option, causingdisplay of a list of the one or more playback zones, wherein the atleast one playback zone of the one or more playback zones is selectableto initiate playback of the media item in the at least one playbackzone.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying one or more playbackzones of the media playback system comprises: identifying devicesassociated with the media playback system, wherein each of the one ormore playback zones is associated with one or more of the devices. 3.The method of claim 1, wherein the list of one or more playback zonesfurther indicates respective playback states of the one or more playbackzones.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: causing storage ofdata indicating the identified one or more playback zones of the mediaplayback system.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:responsive to receiving an input to initiate playback of the media itemin the at least one playback zone of the one or more playback zones,sending an indication to play the media item and the link to the mediaitem to one or more playback devices associated with the at least oneplayback zone.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein modifying the receivedwebpage comprises: modifying the received webpage to add a graphicalrepresentation associated with the link that is selectable to causedisplay of the first option and the second option, and the methodfurther comprises: responsive to receiving an indication of a selectionof the graphical representation, causing display of the first option andthe second option, wherein the first option is selectable to initiateplayback of the media item in the at least one playback zone and thesecond option is selectable to add the media item to the playback queueassociated with the at least one playback zone.
 7. The method of claim1, wherein the list of the one or more playback zones is orderedaccording to respective physical proximities between the computingdevice and the one or more playback zones.
 8. The method of claim 1,wherein the computing device comprises a network device connected to alocal area network (LAN), and wherein the one or more playback zones areassociated with one or more respective playback devices connected to theLAN.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the web-browsing interface isassociated with a user account, and wherein the one or more playbackzones are associated with the user account.
 10. The method of claim 1,wherein the at least one playback zone of the one or more playback zonesis selectable to initiate playback of the media item in the at least oneplayback zone comprises the at least one playback zone of the one ormore playback zones is selectable to cause the media item to be added tothe playback queue associated with the at least one playback zone.
 11. Acomputing device comprising: a processor; and memory having storedthereon instructions executable by the processor to cause the computingdevice to perform functions comprising: upon opening a web-browsinginterface, identifying one or more playback zones of a media playbacksystem; transmitting a request for a webpage via the web-browsinginterface, the request comprising an address of the webpage; receivingthe requested webpage comprising a link to a playable media item;modifying the received webpage such that a representation associatedwith the link is selectable to cause the media item to be played in atleast one playback zone of the one or more playback zones; displaying,on the web-browsing interface, the modified webpage; while displayingthe modified webpage, responsive to a first input indicating a selectionof the representation, displaying a list of the one or more playbackzones in the media playback system; while displaying the modifiedwebpage, receiving a second input indicating a selection of the at leastone playback zone in the list of the one or more playback zones; andresponsive to the second input indicating the selection of the at leastone playback zone in the list of the one or more playback zones, causingone or more playback devices associated with the at least one playbackzone to initiate playback of the media item.
 12. The computing device ofclaim 11, wherein functions for identifying one or more playback zonesof the media playback system comprises: identifying devices associatedwith the media playback system, and wherein functions for modifying thereceived webpage comprises: modifying the received webpage to add agraphical representation associated with the link that is selectable tocause the media item to be played in the one or more playback zones. 13.The computing device of claim 11, wherein the list of one or moreplayback zones further indicates a playback state of the one or moreplayback zones.
 14. The computing device of claim 11, wherein thefunctions further comprise: storing data indicating the identified oneor more playback zones in the media playback system.
 15. The computingdevice of claim 11, wherein the list of one or more playback zones isordered according to respective physical proximities between thecomputing device and the one or more playback zones.
 16. The computingdevice of claim 11, wherein causing the one or more playback devicesassociated with the at least one playback zone to initiate playback ofthe media item comprises: sending the link to one or more given playbackdevices associated with the at least one playback zone.
 17. Thecomputing device of claim 11, wherein causing the one or more playbackdevices associated with the at least one playback zone to initiateplayback of the media item comprises: causing the media item to be addedto a playback queue associated with the at least one playback zone. 18.A tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium having storedthereon instructions executable by a computing device to cause thecomputing device to perform functions comprising: upon opening aweb-browsing interface, identifying one or more playback zones of amedia playback system; transmitting a request for a webpage via theweb-browsing interface, the request comprising an address of thewebpage; receiving the requested webpage comprising a link to a playablemedia item; modifying the received webpage such that a representationassociated with the link is selectable to provide a first option toinitiate playback of the media item in at least one playback zone of theone or more playback zones and a second option to add the media item toa playback queue associated with the at least one playback zone; causingdisplay of the modified webpage on the web-browsing interface;responsive to a selection of the representation, causing display of thefirst option and the second option; and responsive to a selection of thesecond option, causing display of a list of the one or more playbackzones, wherein the at least one playback zone of the listed playbackzones is selectable to cause the media item to be added to the playbackqueue associated with the at least one playback zone.
 19. The tangiblenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein modifyingthe received webpage comprises: modifying the received webpage to add agraphical representation associated with the link that is selectable tocause the media item to be played in the one or more playback zones, andwherein the web-browsing interface is provided on the computing deviceand the computing device is connected to a local area network (LAN), andwherein the one or more playback zones are associated with one or morerespective playback devices connected to the LAN.
 20. The tangiblenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein theweb-browsing interface is associated with a user account, and whereinthe one or more playback zones are associated with the user account. 21.The tangible non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18,wherein identifying one or more playback zones of the media playbacksystem comprises: identifying devices associated with the media playbacksystem, wherein each of the one or more playback zones is associatedwith one or more of the devices.
 22. The tangible non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the list of one or moreplayback zones further indicates respective playback states of the oneor more playback zones.
 23. The tangible non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the functions furthercomprise: responsive to receiving an input to add the media item to theplayback queue associated with the at least one playback zone, sendingan indication to add the media item to the playback queue and the linkto the media item to one or more playback devices associated with the atleast one playback zone.